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2011-11-28 - Beekeepers and Gargoyles, Oh My
A semi loaded down with tech headed through the city to the rail stations has 'run aground' of some problems. Like its tires turning to stone. The escort vehicles barely got a squawk out before they were cut off, signals jammed. And now the men who were in those escort vehicles are engaged in a lopsided firefight in the middle of Midtown Manhattan. Suffice it to say, this is not a good thing. Someone ought to call the bloody cavalry, and fast. Watching the tracer signal on the StormDyne packages that are part of that truck's shipment, Susan Storm is alerted by her computer when those readings fail to move in a reasonable period of time. That can't be right. Distracted from her latest experiment - quickly put on hold for safety's sake, as she has no intention of letting it run out of control while she is distracted - Susan sends a signal to her partner. And then she heads for the powder room. Where else should she activate the systems in her clothing, makeup, hair and contact lenses which transform her from blonde, blue-eyed medical science researcher and businesswoman into brown-haired, brown-eyed, darker-complected overcoat-wearing vigilante? Right before she turns invisible. When all hell breaks loose in Midtown, it tends to draw Sentinel attention. However, this doesn't seem to be an 'all hands on deck' level of hell. Yet. Thus, Iron Man does not disturb his teammates from their duties, but rather accelerates towards the fight. Oh. That's Not Good. Transmutation of rubber to stone. Definitely not good...he doesn't want to find himself suddenly wearing stone armor, after all. The firefight continues between the dark-garbed security personnel from the escort vehicles and the now-emerging yellow beekeeper-suited AIM troops. But it's a very lopsided battle, as already discussed. All too soon, those escort vehicles they're using for cover become a liability as they are induced to explode forcefully, showering those brave men and women with hot shrapnel and burning gasoline. It's bad. The attack on the semi itself progresses as well, as a large hulking grey stone-looking figure reaches the back of the semi and seizes the doors, which transform into stone and then shatter with a single blow from that gargoyle-looking thing's fist. Two more AIM troopers march quickly forward and leap into the back of the truck. While some citizens will see the oncoming Iron Man, pointing whilst others pull out cameras and phones to take pictures, no one sees the arrival of the Invisible Woman. What they do see? The eruption of a dome-like bubble against which burning gasoline and nearly-molten shrapnel splash, while inside a few of those security guards duck and cover, but find themselves surprisingly alive and only minimally injured - so far. Of course, Iron Man's suit sensors have been attuned to certain energy frequencies lately. And they will give off a ping at that dome of unseen energy. So...Invisible Woman is here. And doing a very good job from what he can see. It gives him a little bit of time to stop above and look for the *source* of all of this chaos. There kinda has to be a guy in ugly tights around here somewhere, given what's going on. The question is...where. And, of course, AIM. There's always AIM. He's starting to get heartily tired of them. Iron Man's scans will eventually parse out the semi under 'attack', and the grey stone figure there. No ugly tights for him. But two AIM goons are climbing out of the back of that truck, lugging along several packages, including at least one with a StormDyne logo on it, and probably another there somewhere with a Stark Enterprises logo. There may even be a WayneTech logo and a LexCorp logo in the mix. It's one of those kinds of days. "< Quickly, move! *>" (*) translated from the French - your friendly neighborhood editors The jamming signals in the area are making a mess of cellphone and radio reception. That has kept news of this incident off the global commnet. But once someone finally tries a landline, the word gets out. Cops will be slower in coming. But they will be on the way. Eventually. A wall goes up, blocking AIM trooper fire from reaching one of the escort vehicle crews. A few moments later, another dome goes up to cover a crew pinned odwn from more than one direction. And on top of a building near one of those electronc billboards, a figure flickers into view, as the Invisible Woman has to concentrate on a few too many things at once, and loses hold of her invisibility. For now. Not good at all...and yes, he notices that the Invisible Woman is visible. He doesn't harass her right now...he's more concerned about. Let's see. Grey rocky guy seems to be a good target for a couple of repulsor blasts. Full strength, of course. No ugly tights, but Iron Man thinks the guy's ugly enough not to need an ugly uniform. He might almost feel sorry for him. A pair of full-strength repulsor blasts is more than enough to knock the grey stony gargoyle-like figure onto his rump and send him tumbling backwards. The two AIM troopers with him quickly dive for cover, looking about for the source of those blasts nervously, their pilfered crates in tow. The now-visible Invisible Woman throws up more defensive barriers, still trying to protect those far-outgunned security officers from the AIM troops. But once those AIM troops get word that the Grey Gargoyle has been blasted by the Iron Man, they pull out and start assembling to close in on said armored hero's position. They aren't firing yet, but they soon will be. Well. Right now, Iron Man is happy to draw their fire, sending another sweeping blast into the mass of AIMers. If they're shooting at him, the civilians and security guards can get out of the way...and there will be less strain on the Invisible Woman and her shields. Within, he's quite calm...of course, nobody here would know what's going through the pilot's head. No telepaths in *this* fight. And draw their fire Iron Man does, as the AIM troopers unleash mighty weapons on the armord Sentinel. It's /very/ heavy weapons fire, nosty stuff. Thankfully, they're not quite as well defended as Iron Man is, and his sweeping blast will take out several in reasonably short order, whether temporarily or on a more long-term basis will however remain to be seen. The Invisible Woman, released from the need to cover the security guards, turns Invisible again and starts scooping up the fallen, helping the evacuation of the area. As in their prior encounters, she is proving to have quite the dedication to the protection of the innocent in a crisis. Meanwhile, Iron Man's armor will pick up new high-energy readings, as two craft that had been staying still, idle on low-power except for their signal-jamming arrays, now mobilize to come in, pick up the troops and their captured booty, and make their escape. Evac is under control. Getaway vehicle is approaching. Of course, Iron Man can only take so much hammer. His paint job is going to need to be renewed, at the very least, but he's still firing back at the AIMers, trying to knock as many of them out as he can before their 'car' arrives. It does appear as if evacuation of the civilians is under control, thanks to Invisible Woman's efforts. The lady does seem to have a firm handle on Step One in the heroes and heroines manual, doesn't she? The getaway vehciles are indeed approaching, two bright yellow anti-gravity hover vehicles floating up off nearby roofs and coming down towards street level to gather their AIM goons and cargo and get away before all of this falls apart. Darned heroes! The goons keep firing, as more of their number fall to Iron Man's repulsors. High-energy plasma. Super-powerful electrical discharges. Focused laser projections. The worst might be a sonic disruptor beam canon. It's a dangerous time in the armor this afternoon. So. Where is the loot...Iron Man knows where it is, but getting to it is another matter. Instead of using his repulsor beams now, he's coming in at a fast dive, heading towards where he knows the two are undercover. He fully expects the other three to get in his way. No. This isn't fun. Especially the *sonics*. He's going to have a hangover tomorrow without the pleasure of having got drunk. Naturally, the three remaining AIM troopers levy their weapons against Iron Man full force, doing all they can to dissuade him from this foolhardy attack. Iron Man's attacks on the three AIM troopers do manage to take them down, though not before they get their shots on him. The two AIM transports lower into position, as the remaining two AIM agents pick up their burdens and try to make it to those transports before Iron Man grabs them. And then a hand reaches out, just as Iron Man is about to reach those AIM troopers and their loot. It is a grey, stony hand. And its touch is likely to cause all kinds of havok on those powered armor systems. The Invisible Woman does get the civilians clear of all of this mess. But she doesn't just then abandon her fellow hero, be he Sentinel or no. He is still trying his best to battle the enemies, and she will do what she can to help. Her contribution is subtle. Heck, it's invisible. But she drops a dome over the AIM transports, the troopers, Iron Man, the Grey Gargoyle, and the loot. Now no one is getting away. Now, here's the thing...first of all, Iron Man's focused on grabbing the loot. Second of all, he just got 'friendly fired' by the Invisible Woman...either she didn't realize he was still in there, or... The grey guy manages to grab his arm, and his left gauntlet turns to stone. NOT GOOD. He tries to launch back and away before the guy can touch anything else. Of course, Iron Man loses a repulsor when that gauntlet is turned to stone, but thankfully the hand inside does not /appear/ to have been affected. Lucky thing, that! With the three armed AIM agents disabled, that leaves only Grey Gargoyle and the two with the loot. As Iron Man takes off to get distance from the Gargoyle, those two agents gather their prizes and make their way to the hovering AIM transports, loading up as quickly as they can. They have no idea that they are trapped, though they may soon find out when they try to rise up and ram into that dome. "< Hurry, you fools! We must get away with those goods, and quickly! >" the Gargoyle advises sharply in French. He might only have one working repulsor...but he has one working repulsor. Of course, it's at reduced strength. And he can only target ONE of the two transports. So, of course, he shoots...Gargoyle instead. Because maybe if he knocks the guy unconscious, it'll un-stone his gauntlet. Or, maybe he's just after a bit of payback. At half strength, a single reulsor won't knock out Grey Gargoyle, but it will rock him back a bit. It's enough to keep the dangerous metahuman from making it aboard one of the transports right away, and keeps him from finding a way to reach Iron Man right away either. The AIM troops, true to their criminal conspiracy, do not wait for Grey Gargoyle to board, but instead take off as soon as the goods are on board, launching their transports upwards! This results in a resounding crash, as the two transports barrel squarely into the dome of invisible energy that is above them, held by the Invisible Woman. Their engines spark and compartments partially crumple with the force of that impact, and those transports do not get away with the goods. Elsewhere, outside said dome, the Invisible Woman gives a cry and falls to her knees. /That hurt/, a lot more than other impacts have. She's clutching her head, quite visibly, at the moment. Iron Man lifts off...the cops can deal with the AIMers, but his concern is Gargoyle. Compensating for the damage of his suit, he aims another blast at the rocky meta...at least he can keep him from getting near the cops. He's concerned about the Invisible Woman, though. Her losing her invisibility earlier bothers him. With the AIM transports disabled by damage and crashed - twice, once into the force field and another into the ground - the AIM troopers are not getting away with the loot, and they'll be lucky to crawl out to face the cops before being 'rescued' from their own getaway vehicles. The Grey Gargoyle could go trying to grab the gear they were after, but at this point he just wants to get away. But before he can get himself a hostage to effect that escape, he is besieged by yet /more/ repulsor blasts. With Iron Man taking the time to re-route the power of the suit, these are coming out far closer to full-power, and are enough to knock him around, and knock him down, leaving him pinned down while the police begin to arrive. Thankfully, so do Sentinel support teams with means to safely snare those whose touch would be dangerous. No longer supporting that invisible dome over the site, the Invisible Woman drops her mask long enough to wipe away the blood from her nose and stuff the hanky in her pocket - leaving no evidence for anyone else. Then she pulls up her mask ... and after some further concentration, fades from sight. She may be taking the long, slow way home, however. That invisibility is just about the most she can manage with the raging headache she's sporting thanks to the feedback of two AIM cruisers slamming into her shield simultaneously. Good. The gargoyle is dealt with...and the suit gauntlet is perfectly replaceable. (No, he doesn't know that it will return to normal eventually). Carefully compensating for the balance alteration resulting from it, Iron Man lifts off, leaving the cleanup to the cops and Sentinel teams. Now. Where was she? He's worried about her, although he can't admit it. She *was* on that rooftop there... As Iron Man flies over the rooftop in question, his scanners - freed from other duties, now - perform another sweep, again picking up that faint trace energy signature. Invisible Woman's invisibility is in effect wrapping herself in a very small, low-power field just like her farce fields. So that makes it possible for the same adjustments to pick her up, at least at closer range. She seems to be walking along the rooftop, though she stops to lift her head and watch him as Iron Man flies closeby. At least if he trusts the indistinct outlines from his energy scanner interpolations. Iron Man hesitates, then makes sure the cops are busy with a quick glance back *before* he lands. He doesn't want to be pressured into doing this all wrong and spooking her. Of course, sooner or later, the ultimatum will have to be given. He'd rather not get to that point. From what Iron Man's sensors can figure out, the Invisible Woman glances all around nervously for a bit, as he clearly hovers and then lands on the rooftop. Her hands seem to reach up to her face for a moment - checking her mask? - and then the invisibility fades out. There seems to be a very real element of 'pain' in her eyes, like she's fighting a nasty migraine at the least. "Hello again, Iron Man. Seems I'm going to have trouble with you. You appear able to detect me." Her point is a good one: even standard unusual sensors - infrared, ultraviolet, true-heat, sonar pulse and radar - don't pick her up. And she probably knows at least some of that, though guessing her age is still almost impossible. "Only because I very carefully recalibrated my sensors, and I'm not detecting *you*. I'm detecting your forcefield." Which, it seems, she has found a way to set so it bends light around her. "Are you alright?" No emotion, of course. The voice filter takes it all out. "Pretty massive headache. Nosebleed. So, miserable, but I'll survive." Oddly, there's a delay before the now-visible woman responds, like she's deciding what to say or how to say it. Iron Man can't know that she's translating her natural medical terminology into more common parlance, though a telepath would. Like that woman she met him with that one time. She points a gloved hand at his stone gauntlet. "That didn't get your /actual/ hand, did it?" she inquires. "No. And it seems to have only got the gauntlet section. We have spares." Rebuilding the entire suit would not be that much of a challenge. The pilot, of course...that's a little more difficult. And had he gotten Tony's chest plate, that would have been BAD. Invisible Woman nods at that. "Good." She seems relieved, which means she does care what happens to him, at least as much as she would anyone else she knows. Or strangers, given how she takes care of them when they're in danger. "I take it they put /you/ on finding me? With the sensor mods. So ... why is it you made damned sure the cops couldn't see you landing here before you did?" There's still a noticeable 'lag' in her speeking. She's still planning what to say, filtering it somehow. Her voice sounds natural, so it's not like Tony's suit. It may be slightly altered in some way, but it's not stripped of emotion or anything like that. "Because, really, I'd rather *not* have to haul you to the Citadel kicking and screaming. Or deliver any ultimatums just yet. I'd rather you came on board willingly." And he apparently plans on taking time to persuade her, rather than trying to push her. The still-visible woman tilts her head to the side just slightly, clearly regarding him carefully and probably trying to decide if she can trust him, if he's telling the truth. "So you want to land so you can make sure I'm not going to expire, and then make your pitch? Really?" She sounds a tad incredulous. But she's not /calling/ him a liar. She's doubting. Concerned. She probably has a right to be. "Well, making sure you weren't going to expire was the first concern. I saw you lose your shield earlier." And that is a reason for concern. The young woman nods, head bobbing. That makes her wince more than she was. Head movement, not great. "Feedback. Those two freaking transports at once." Hence, headache. Nosebleed. Other issues. Purely a power overload. "Glad they didn't make it out. Did you get the stone creep?" "Yeah, I did. Hopefully he won't escape too quickly." The sad thing about villains: They tend to get out. Mostly because supervillains are smarter than the average crook. And though no one here would think it, Grey Gargoyle is actually borderline genius, despite his rather thuggish apparent role in today's fiasco. "Sure hope not. Nasty guy." More noticeable delay, mental editing, before she asks, "Those guys that were trying to fight back. They OK? I did what I could." Best not to ask that question in terms that sound both medical, and like she actually knows who they were, who they worked for, and what they were doing here, which are things 'random vigilante chick' should not know. "Not sure," Iron Man admits, "But there are medics on the ground now, so they'll get the best of care." If he has to make sure of it himself, perhaps? The woman nods. "Good. Poor guys were way-outgunned today. But they still had guts." And apparently the Invisible Woman respects that. "OK. So you answered my questions. And thanks. If you want to make your pitch, I'll listen. Zero promises, but I'll listen." Iron Man nods. "AIM is becoming more and more of a problem. Unfortunately, they're more like bees than beekeepers and we don't know where the queen is." He's got a point. "And to be honest. We could use you. You're good." Hey, flattery can get you somewhere. The woman listens and pauses before responding. More mental editing? "OK. Which tells me what you guys get out of it. I appreciate the compliment, by the way. But that can't be the whole pitch, Iron Man. I'm helping /now/. Why would I want to give up my secrets and join the Sentinels to keep doing what I'm already doing?" And to be fair, she's probably recording this. She has a partner to discuss this with, and he /has/ met that partner, if only briefly. "The ability to work with the cops instead of against them, for starters. Not having to worry that somebody like me is going to track you down, work out who you are and get a restraining order filed against you." The choices are stark. Pun intended. "I help the cops all the time." the currently visible woman responds. And it's true, she does. "Let's be honest. Hiding is a big part of what I do." So she doesn't mind hiding from the cops. The press. Or anyone else. Still, she's listening. "To be blunt, so far, that's reasons to quit. Or reasons to start doing something about the stupid politicians who support stupid laws. Not reasons to join up with you." A somewhat rude assessment, but not entirely wrong. "So. Why did /you/ join up? Just being a fighter jock in a whole new toy? Or was that the designer's plan from the get-go?" "Mr. Stark's plan for the Iron Man technology was to demonstrate that, with the right equipment, it was possible for a trained human to keep up with the metahumans. I think he was hoping that would make people less afraid of you." Iron Man is *not*, after all, a meta. The woman considers Iron Man, and then nods. "OK. I can see his point, to a degree. But it hasn't really worked out that way. Most anyone you meet will view you as equivalent to a metahuman. Even if it's technological, not biological." Or alien. Or magical. Or what the heck ever. "So that's an explanation for why you joined. And I respect it. But not a reason for me to join. To give up everything to a government I do not trust - because it's made of people who are just as fallible and corruptable as anyone else, if not moreso - and join the Sentinels. What reason can you really give why I should do that?" "Better gear. More backup. Not being afraid to call for backup because you're worried somebody might tap into your radio." And there's the fact that she *would* be so useful...but preferably on her own terms. Truth is, Invisible Woman's gear is pretty darned good, but she knows Iron Man doesn't know that for sure. And there's no telling how good it might get given Tony Stark is supporting the Sentinels. He's a lot better at military-style or -useful tech than either she or Janet are. "Backup isn't a bad thing, I'll grant you. And not having jerks track my comms would be nice." Notice, she didn't call for Wasp to come in on this, despite that it got hairy. Want to bet there might be a reason for that? She doesn't say 'this is more of a reason to quit than a reason to join'. But it probably is. And yet she doesn't. "Good practice facilities...the ability to work on teamwork." He's noticed Susan does try to do it all herself, but that's not exactly something he fails to understand. "It's about being part of something." And if he can work things the way he intends...something that might be a force for good *despite* the government. Maybe. That seems to make her consider carefully what he says, more than some other things he has mentioned. "I have a partner." she mentions, guardedly. He should already know that. But she is perhaps both reminding him, and making it clear she /does/ work with others when she can. Panacea could tell him that. If they ever talked. Given Panacea's status? Probably not. "OK. What about the Justice Society? They work together. They're a team." All true. And no giving up secrets to The Man in the process. Clearly she /has/ been thinking about this. "I admit I don't know much about them. They seem competent." But he isn't allowed to give them more than that...the tangled web could get even more tangled, if Tony's not careful. Poor guy. The young woman facing Iron Man lifts both brown eyebrows eloquently. Competent? Really? That's what he's going with? "I heard you Sentinels ran into them, more than once. And didn't take them in. Didn't want to blow things sky-high? Or did you guys come to an arrangement?" Can't blame her for asking, right? "Only times I've run into independents, there was somebody I needed to bring in more," Iron Man points out. Fighting the bad guys... The Invisible Woman nods. "Like today." She's figuring it out. It gives up a reason he can offer for not pursuing leads on the independents. It's a foil. He doesn't want to be their gestapo. But he has to do his job. "Alright. I've heard your pitch. I'm not going to make up my mind on a rooftop with the cops in shouting distance. But I'll think about it. And talk to my partner." "And I wasn't asking you to make up your mind now." But he's warning her in his own way to be careful. He doesn't want to see her locked up or something. The Invisible Woman nods, even as she fades from site. "Good luck, Iron Man. Hope those guys turn out to be OK." That said, she walks towards the edge of the roof, and just before she steps over he can see - if he looks - a small platform of the same energy take shape. She steps out onto it and floats out across the city invisibly.